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Sometimes we think workplace violence and harassment won’t happen on the job.

 Imagine going in to work one day, just like any other day. You’re the Manager at a popular retail store. You get along well with your colleagues. In fact, you are especially close to one of your staff who has disclosed information about her relationship with her boyfriend. She recently broke up with him; he hasn’t taken the news very well; and she’s a bit scared of him.  Your intiution tells you that you should do something, but you are not certain what. Suddenly you hear gun shots and panic sets in. Customers run out of the store, and the first thought in your head is about your co-worker, you know something bad has happened. While you duck under the cash register counter, you’re frozen with fear and don’t know what to do next.

Unfortunately, this imaginary introduction is loosely based on a real incident that happened recently in Chicago, Illinios, where a man followed his estranged girlfriend into an Old Navy store where she worked and killed her in a basement area restricted to employees, before turning the gun on himself. While I don’t know all the details around the incident and whether the worker disclosed her fear to her employer, you can see how even though you might think this won’t happen here, it could. This is the type of incident that Bill 168 hopes to prevent. While this particular incident happened in a retail environment, that is usecure and open to the public, there are still precautions and procedures that could be put in place to help prevent violence and harassment in the workplace.

The first step to implementing Bill 168 is completing a risk assessment, and the incident above serves to remind us that we should think of all possible scenarios to reduce the level of risk. Isolated areas should have coded and secure access, there should be a means of communication located in the area, another exit point, and perhaps even video survelliance, and a panic button.

Another aspect of Bill 168 deals with domestic violence. Once the employee discloses that she is fearful about the possibility of “domestic” violence, the employer has a duty to act. That means discussing and creating a safety plan with the employee, referral to women’s support centres, counselling, providing information and documents about abuse, and changing schedules, or transfering to another store so regular routines no longer exists. 

If this incident happened in Ontario after June 15, 2010, and the retail company had done nothing about Bill 168, then the corporation, people in positions of authority (i.e. the store manager), could face fines, and the manager and/or executive of the firm could face jail time.

There may be more measures you could take. You know your workplace and industry better than anyone. Bill 168 isn’t really here to spoil your day. Rather, it’s being put in place because bad things do happen on the job. One in five violent incidents in Canada occur in the workplace. (Statistics Canada 2007). Maybe nothing could have prevented this incident from happening, but with training and education, processes and procedures, maybe, just maybe, the outcome might have been a little different. Taking the time and effort to ensure you are compliant is here for a very real reason.

What do you think?      Joanne